


Sixteen Days Late

by tuppenny



Series: Scars [9]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/M, Jack is awful in chapter one, References to Sex, chapter two fixes things, cursing, fight, you guys know what you're in for with this series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuppenny/pseuds/tuppenny
Summary: Katherine's period is over two weeks late, and neither she nor Jack reacts well to the implications of that news.
Relationships: Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber
Series: Scars [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1041443
Comments: 20
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WritingToKeepMySanity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingToKeepMySanity/gifts).



> Literally years ago, Disney gave me the prompt "kinda want a pregnancy scare with J&K in the Scars verse??" And I had the bones of it back then, but I never wrote it. Soooo here you go!

Katherine checked the calendar once more to make sure. This would be the fifth time she’d recounted the days, and it had been 45 each time, but this required absolute certainty. This was something she could absolutely not afford to get wrong.

“Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five,” she whispered. Forty-five days since her last period. _Fuck_. She licked her lips and walked into the living room, where Jack was sitting on the couch playing video games, headset askew from the violent dodging motions he made as his character navigated some sort of urban warzone. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then moved to the edge of the couch, where she’d be in Jack’s sightline just enough for him to notice her without being startled. “Jack?”

He held up a finger, eyes glued to the screen. “This’s a timed course, babe. I’ll be done in five. That okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, wandering away to the balcony. “Sure.” Her life had already imploded; might as well wait another five minutes before she imploded her husband’s, too. She leaned on the metal railing and peered down at the passers-by, all of whom were oblivious to the fact that she was pregnant. _Pregnant._ There was a whole entire _person_ growing inside of her right now, siphoning off her energy and her blood and expanding incrementally like an alien parasite in a horror film. She hated horror movies with a passion, and now she was living one. _Pregnant_.

“Kitty?”

She jumped at Jack’s voice and rubbed roughly at her wrist as he came closer.

Jack caught the motion and frowned, taking her hand firmly in his so that she couldn’t repeat it. “What’s up? Nothin’ good, huh?”

Katherine raised her shoulders and gave him an uncertain look. “Maybe?” She let her shoulders drop and scanned his face, trying to gauge his mood.

“Spill, girlie.”

She closed her eyes and rushed out the words all at once. “I-think-I’m-pregnant.”

“ _What?”_ Jack dropped her hand like it was on fire and took a step backwards. “You _what?_ You can’t be! You’re on birth control!”

“I forgot to take it the week I got sick,” she said miserably, wrapping her arms around herself. “I didn’t realize until the end of the month, when I ended up with some extra, and then I just…” She shrugged again.

“You just didn’t _tell_ me, is what you did,” Jack said accusingly, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“I hoped I wouldn’t have to!” She could feel the tears starting to prickle behind her eyes and clenched her hands into fists, pressing them tightly against her ribcage. “I didn’t want to… to upset you for no reason.”

“But now there’s a reason,” he said flatly. “Because now you know you’ve got some… some… _thing_ —”

“A _baby,”_ she spat at him, as if she hadn’t been thinking of it as ‘some thing’ just a moment earlier.

He waved his hand at her. “Inside of you!”

“Yes, Jack. That’s where babies grow,” she said, her tone pure acid. “Inside a woman’s body. Or hadn’t you heard.”

He rolled his eyes and dragged a hand down the side of his face. “You took a test?”

“No, but I’m sixteen days late for my period, and that never happens.”

“Fuuuuuck,” Jack exhaled, staring up at the sky. “Fuck! How could you let this happen, Pulitzer?” He looked at her, then stalked over to the edge of the balcony, wrapped his hands around the railing, and leaned over. “ _Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!”_

“That is exactly how this happened, Jack,” she hissed, grabbing onto his wrist and trying to pull him back from the edge; people on the sidewalk were staring. “You always want to fuck, and fucking has consequences, and _this is one of them!”_

He jerked away from her touch. “Not if you’re responsible about it! You said we were covered! You said it was fine!”

Her tears finally began to spill over. “It’s not all my fault, Jack!”

He raised an eyebrow and gave a humorless laugh. “Sure. Shift the blame back onta me, the juvenile delinquent. I’m the screwed-up one around here, so of course I’m the one who screwed this up, too. Couldn’t possibly be you, Little Miss Perfect, could it? Nooooo, not Katherine fuckin’ Pulitzer, no way. She never fucks up, not her.”

“That’s not—” She reached out for him again, and this time he pulled back so sharply that she stumbled, hitting the wall separating the balcony from the apartment.

“You can’t blame everythin’ on me, Pulitzer,” he said, his words controlled and low. “This one’s on you.”

“We’re _married_ , Jack,” Katherine said, clenching her jaw so tightly it hurt. “I’m Katherine Kelly now, don’t you remember?” She heard herself pleading with him for forgiveness—begging, even—and even though she hated herself for giving him the power to be both judge and jury, she was powerless to stop. “We’re supposed to be a team.”

“Fuck you,” he said, pushing past her to go back into the apartment.

“That’s the problem, Jack!” She began laughing hysterically, the tears coming ever-faster. “That’s what got us into this mess.”

He didn’t seem to see the humor; his face shuttered, and he stalked off into the bedroom. “Go take a pregnancy test,” he ordered. “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore until you know for sure.” He slammed the door behind him and Katherine heard the lock click fast.

“You can’t just lock me out!” She yelled, running to the bedroom door and pounding on it with the flat of her hand. “This is my home, too!”

“Get a fuckin’ test!”

“Why are you doing this!” She sobbed, still banging on the door, though with less urgency. She liked the feel of the wood on her hand—solid, unchanging—and the rhythm of the noise she was making. “I thought you wanted children, Jack.”

Silence.

She let her hand fall and walked slowly to the bathroom, searching for a tissue to dry her eyes. “I thought _I_ wanted children,” she murmured to herself. “So why do I feel like this?”

*

Katherine spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly around the city, finally heading into a Duane Reade when dusk fell. The pharmacy carried three different brands of pregnancy tests, so she picked out one of each and headed to the counter. “Could I, uh, could I have the bathroom code, please?”

The clerk gave her a smile. “Sure. 0895. It’s over in the back left,” she said, pointing the way.

“Thanks,” Katherine said, grateful her voice had settled back to its normal briskness. She fumbled with the packaging and then cursed herself for trying to take a pregnancy test while dehydrated. _Idiot_ , she thought. _Can’t remember to take your medicine, can’t remember to drink water when you know you’re going to have to pee on a stick in order to save your marriage, can’t do anything right at all…_

She paced back and forth in the tiny stall, waiting for the results, drawing up a list of private kindergartens they’d—she’d?—need to go tour in the next few weeks, thinking about which of her friends had cute baby clothes they might be willing to pass on to her, wondering if they’d get a two-bedroom apartment together or if she’d have to find one on her own….

Her eyes flicked down to the three bits of plastic clutched in her left hand, and her breath caught. Negative. All three were _negative_. She felt a shooting pain in her heart even as her spirits lifted. She wasn’t pregnant. There was no baby. Her life was unchanged. She was _fine._

…except she wasn’t. She’d just had a screaming match with her husband, who’d locked himself in a bedroom and blamed her for ruining their lives and refused to talk to her, refused to panic _with_ her rather than _at_ her, and now, well… she wasn’t sure where that left them. Or their plans to start a family, which had been nebulous but real.

Clearly not as real as they’d both thought, though, if the prospect of actually having a child caused them to have their worst fight since the time Emmy had called from Indiana to say she’d been in a minor car accident, nothing to worry about, but she’d be in the hospital overnight for observation, and Jack responded by leaving the apartment alone, getting blackout drunk, and stumbling home at 3am. That had been something worth fighting about, yes, but it had also been a reaction she’d understood. This time, though…

Katherine sighed and washed her hands. Honestly, this time was probably the same as the last time, wasn’t it? Jack’s childhood had been traumatic, to say the least, and she still didn’t know all the details. Most of the details, in fact. She shook her head, wrapped the pregnancy tests in a paper towel, and started walking home. She felt calmer now, even if he didn’t, and they’d work this out. They always did.


	2. Chapter 2

Katherine had no sooner opened the door than Jack was vaulting over the back of the couch, racing to hug her. He flung his arms out then stuttered to a stop, arms falling limply by his sides, realizing she might not want his physical affection just yet. “Kath’rine?” He lifted his ballcap and ran a hand through his hair, eyes flicking back and forth as he took her in.

She gave a deep, involuntary sigh and held her arms out for him to barrel into. “I love you, Jack, but we need to talk,” she murmured into his ear, rocking backwards with the force of his embrace. “What happened earlier—that wasn’t okay, and we’re not okay yet, either. Alright?”

He nodded into her shoulder and started to loosen his hold on her. “I know,” he said, all contrition. “I know.”

She patted his back and shook her head. “Only when you’re ready, buttercup. You can hang on for now.”

“Thank you,” he breathed, immediately tightening his grip.

She rubbed her hands up and down over the gunmetal blue fabric of his Henley, which had rucked up in his mad dash to get to her, and breathed in his smell. Her anger had cooled as she wandered through the city, and although she could still feel it in the pit of her stomach, a leaden weight that slowed her movements and made her sick, it had settled enough that she could find comfort in her husband’s touch.

It took several minutes for Jack’s breathing to calm and his muscles to relax, but finally, finally, he pulled away from her and shut the apartment door behind them.

“Ready?” Katherine asked, her voice even.

Jack nodded and brushed his nose with his thumb once, twice, before following her to the living room. They sat at opposite ends of the couch, turning to face each other rather than the wall, and locked eyes.

“Kath.”

She tilted her head sideways and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry.”

She crossed her arms and then uncrossed them, remembering her counselor’s advice on how body language could help resolve conflict. “Go on.” 

He reached for her hand and then let it fall on his knee, knowing they weren’t there yet. “For yelling. For overreacting—an’ for reacting the way I did. For screamin’ at you like I was some sorta… like I was fuckin’ Kavanaugh in his Supreme Court hearin’s.”

She snorted in amusement. “You don’t have to insult yourself to make your point.”

“Right,” he said, rolling his right shoulder. “Well. I shouldn’t’ve gotten angry at you for tellin’ me somethin’ that needed to be said, I shouldn’t’ve jumped down your throat about the birth control, an’ I shouldn’t’ve put words in your mouth. You came lookin’ for sympathy an’ support, an’ instead I made you feel alone an’ unloved, an’ that’s the…” his voice broke. “Fuck, Kitty. I promised I wouldn’t do that to you, an’ here I go, doin’ it again.”

“You do it less often now, though,” she reminded him. “I can see that you’re trying, and you are getting better about it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said, nudging his foot with hers. “It’s been, oh, two or three years since we’ve had a fight this bad, don’t you think?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “I… yeah. I think you’re right.”

“See?” She said, giving him a quick smile. “Progress.”

He exhaled in what might have been a weak laugh and looked up at her, his eyes watery. “I really am sorry, girlie. I was wrong, an’ I hurt you, an’ I am gonna keep workin’ ta do better.” He stretched his hand out to her, gaze questioning, and she clasped his hand firmly in both of hers.

“I forgive you, Jack,” she said. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about forgetting to take my birth control.”

He frowned and shook his head. “You don’t hafta—”

“No, I do,” she said. “I meant well, but you were right that I should’ve told you once I realized. That’s something that affects both of us, so you deserve to know about it.” She raised her eyebrows inquiringly at him, and he huffed a laugh.

“Feels wrong to accept your apology when what I done was so much worse, but yeah, Kitty, I forgive you. Of course I do.” He swallowed hard, and she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. “An’ I… I’ll love the baby. I will.”

She gave him a lopsided smile, unsure if it was one of happiness or regret. “There’s no baby, Jack.” His eyes widened, and she shrugged. “I took a test, like you said—three of them, in fact—and it turns out I’m not pregnant. Late, but not pregnant.”

“Oh, thank heavens,” he breathed, and flung himself forward to hug her. “Kath’rine, Kath, sweetheart, I—” he kissed her, then kissed her again, framing her face in his hands and running his thumbs gently over her forehead. “I’m so glad.”

“Well, that’s good,” she said, bewildered. “But _why?_ Why are you glad? _”_

Jack knelt back on his thighs and bit his lower lip, running it back and forth between his teeth. “Umm… because dreams are nicer than reality?”

Katherine barked out a laugh. “That’s true, mostly, yeah.” She braced her arms on the back of her neck and yawned. “But I thought I wanted children. I thought _you_ wanted children. So why were we so upset about having a child? Even just the thought of one made us go absolutely rabid. Doesn’t that seem weird to you?” Jack shrugged, and Katherine dropped her arms back into her lap, sighing softly. “Well. I thought about it a lot while I was walking around the city today, and for me, I… I was terrified about being pregnant, and then I was a little sad when I wasn’t.”

“Does that mean you want to try for a baby, then?” Jack asked, trying not to betray how much he wanted to bolt before hearing her answer.

“I don’t know,” she said, pressing the heel of her palm to her forehead. “I feel like I should know one way or the other, but mostly I’m… ambivalent. Can you be ambivalent about having a child? Is that okay? Is that normal?”

“Don’t ask me,” Jack said, raising his hands as if to ward off her question. “I’m the last person to ask about normal behavior.”

That drew a smile from Katherine, and she rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess I’m okay either way, is how I feel about it,” she admitted. “I’d love a child with you, but I also love the way our life is now, and I think I’d be happy either way.” Her smile grew as she grew more certain in her words. “Yeah. That’s how I feel. Either way.”

Jack smiled back, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Katherine caught on—of course she did, she always did—and raised an eyebrow at him. “Your turn, mister. There’s something going on in that head of yours, I know—you don’t scream at people for no reason, and you definitely don’t scream at _me_ for no reason. What’s up? Do you know?”

Jack winced. “I… maybe? I did some thinking, too, this afternoon, and I…” He stared down at the couch. “I think I just… I think it felt like…” He grimaced and pressed his hands against his stomach, as if seeking to reassure himself. “It’s ridiculous, but I guess that when you said we were havin' a kid, I felt like you were tellin’ me I was gonna die in a coupla years,” he admitted, still not meeting Katherine’s eyes. “I know most parents don’t die when their kids are little, but since mine did, when you said we was havin’ a baby it kinda… started this countdown clock in my head. An’ I… I just freaked, ya know?”

He looked back up as Katherine squeezed his shoulder. “I can understand that, Jackie,” she said softly. “I see why you’d feel that.”

He gave her an uncertain, hopeful look. “Yeah? Okay. Well, good. An’ I… I don’t wanna die anytime soon, Kitty. I really don’t. An’ I don’t wanna screw up no kid’s life, neither. I mean, I—I barely had a dad, how’m I s’posed ta know how ta _be_ one?” His voice grew heated. “An’ what if I die or _you_ die an’ then this kid is left all on its own an’ it’s gotta live what I went through, knowin’ I knew what was out there, what the risks were, an’ I decided to put ‘em through it anyway?” He shook his head, eyes fiery. “That ain’t right, girlie. That ain’t fair. I can’t do that to an innocent kid. No way in hell am I doin’ that.”

She nodded and scooted forwards, pulling his head to rest on her chest, smoothing her hand over his hair and hugging him close. “I hear what you’re saying, honey. I do. I know you’d be a great dad, and you and I have so many good friends that no child of ours would ever lack for love, but if you don’t want to have a kid after all, that’s fine. That’s fine.”

Jack clutched her left forearm and wrapped his other arm behind her, hugging her back. “But I can’t lose you, either, baby,” he said, his voice low. “You said you wanted kids. When we got married, _we_ said we wanted kids. I _promised_ you that.” His voice grew thick. “I promised you, an’ I said I always wanted ‘em, too, an’…” He rolled his shoulder against her and paused a moment to think.

Katherine squeezed him briefly, letting him know everything was okay, that she was listening, that she loved him.

“Well,” Jack sighed, “It's not like I was lyin'— I thought I wanted kids, I really did, but… well, it turns out that what I _really_ wanted was a fam’ly.” He gave a soft laugh. “An’ now that I’ve got you an’ Emmy an’ your sisters, an’ now that I knows I got some friends who're stickin’ around, well… I don’t need no one else." He shook his head in amazement. "I got people who ain’t gonna leave me, an’ that’s all I wanted, really.” He smiled to himself, grateful for how far he’d come. “But, Kitty—you gotta know, if you’s gonna feel incomplete without kids, then I don’t wanna take that away from you.” He looked up at her to make sure she saw how serious he was. “We c’n do it, baby. We can. We just gotta plan it out so’s I c’n get ready bit by bit, is all.”

Katherine hummed and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “There are other ways for me to have children in my life without having any of my own,” she said soothingly. “I’ll tell you if my mind changes, but I think wanting children was more of, well... I think I wanted them because I always just... thought it would happen, you know?" She twirled a stray curl around her finger. "But now I think… I think it’s okay if it doesn’t. Or if it doesn’t happen in the way I thought it would.”

Jack sagged against her and closed his eyes. “Thank you, Katherine. And I’m sorry. And thank you. And I—" He felt his heart squeeze and his breath grow short. "Kitty, baby, I—really, I just—darling, _thank_ you.”

“We could foster,” she said slowly, thinking out loud. “Or adopt. Or just volunteer at, like, the local Boys and Girls Club.”

“Yeah?” Jack asked, watching her summer-yellow words settle on his skin.

“Do any of those appeal, love?” Katherine asked, running her fingers through his dark, glossy hair.

“Mmm,” he said, savoring her touch. “I’d have to think about it. Volunteering, for sure. I think I’d like that.” He grinned, remembering the shenanigans he’d gotten up to in the mentorship programs he’d been forcibly enrolled in as a child. He hadn’t wanted to do a single one of them, but most of them had been fun. Formative, even, in the case of the program where he’d met Miss Medda. “It’s possible I’d wanna foster or adopt someday, too," he said, trying to imagine what that might look like, "But gimme some time on those.” He shifted in Katherine’s arms, pressing closer still. “Definitely volunteering, though. I think we’d be good at that.”

“Me, too,” Katherine said softly, leaning her cheek on the crown of his head. “And of course we’ll shower love and attention on our friends’ kids, too. Be the cool aunt and uncle.”

“Oh, no question. We’re already the coolest couple around—won’t take the kids long ta see that.”

Katherine laughed. “Emmy would fight you on that one.”

Jack snorted. “C’mon, K. Half of her couple is _Davey_. In what world is he cool?”

Katherine smacked him lightly on the bicep. “Jack! He’s your friend!”

“An’ I love him!” Jack protested. “He’s amazin’! An’ brilliant! An’ a damn good friend! But _cool?”_

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Ugh, Jack. Seriously?”

“There’s better things than bein’ cool, an’ Davey’s alla _those_ ,” Jack said, sticking to his guns. “But you an’ me? _We’re_ the cool ones, K. Always.”

Katherine giggled. “Okay, baby. I’ll just leave it be. No need to have two fights in one day.”

“No,” Jack agreed, adjusting his weight so they both tilted slowly sideways until they were lying on the couch together. He kissed her neck and nestled his head under her chin, soothed by the steady in-and-out of her breaths. They lay like that for a while, listening to the noise of traffic outside and feeling the July heat settle in their bones, relaxing into the languor of a summer night and the exhaustion that always followed one of their (thankfully rare) screaming matches. Eventually, Jack found his thoughts bending askew in the way they always did just before he slipped into dreams, and he sucked in a quick breath, wrestling himself awake. There was more to say. “Kitty?”

Katherine roused herself just enough to answer. “Mhmm?”

He licked his lips nervously. “Are we okay now? And—um. Do you... do you still love me?”

His nerves ebbed as he felt her face curve into a smile. “Yes, heart of my heart. Of course. And I love you even when I’m angry with you—you know that.”

“I do,” he said, settling back down, ready to drift into sleep. “And I love you always, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katherine has an undiagnosed thyroid issue that caused the late period. Jack makes her go in to get some tests run, and the doctors find the anomaly, give her some medication, and that's that.


End file.
